My guest this week is Frank Abate, who’s about to open the first shelter and community center for queer youth in the Dominican Republic. He’s been working on this project for a long time, with the help of many fellow activists, and it hasn’t been easy. But Frank’s drawn inspiration from many sources, from moving queer stories in movies like Torch Song Trilogy … and from his travels around the, which were partially inspired, many years ago, by sitcoms. Which is how queer youth in the Dominican Republic will soon have new opportunities to thrive thanks. in some small part, to Ron Howard.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. 

First, a couple quick reminders, starting with a heads-up that I’ve got a video coming your way soon on YouTube about the making of the movie Psycho and the long strange journey of Norman Bates.

Also, I hope you’ll join me for weekly livestreams over on Twitch every Sunday afternoon at twitch.tv/mattbaume. And if you haven’t yet, take a look at my new book about the history of queer characters on sitcoms, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! — available now wherever books are sold. Go to gaysitcoms.com for details.

Big thanks to everyone who makes all my work possible on Patreon — visit patreon.com/mattbaume to support Sewers of Paris and get patron-exclusive benefits.

I Can't Believe We Pulled This Off (Ep 435 - Happy Days/Frank)

Revealing stories about the books, movies, tv, music and more that have changed the lives of gay men. Each week, a guest plucks a piece of entertainment from their past, and answers the question: how did it change your life?

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

TV & Film

My guest this week is Eli McCann, a lawyer, a humor columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, and a devotee of Lucille Ball since the age of six. That made him an easy kid to shop for, and by the time he was a teen he’d amassed a treasure trove of Lucy memorabilia … which nearly led to a crisis when he caught wind of his classmates’ plan to ambush him at home and reveal what had been, until then, a mostly private obsession.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that if you like The Sewers of Paris, you’ll probably also enjoy my new podcast where we dive into the 90s TV series My So-Called Life, one episode at a time. It’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts — just search for Matt’s So-Cast Pod.

And you may also like my YouTube videos for a queer look at movie and television history, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. You can get all that and more at MattBaume.com.

Lucy Would Not Take This Down (Ep 466 Lucille Ball/Eli McCann)

My guest this week is writer and artist Tim Fish. I first came across his work in the book Liebestrasse, written by Greg Lockard and illustrated by Tim. It’s the story of two men connecting in Berlin in the leadup to World War II, and it’s typical of Tim’s interests — personal, emotional, and thoughtful. Tim’s always been interested in comics, but for many years it was something of a secret identity for him — a passion that he thought was just a hobby, until he turned thirty and realized he wanted to walk away from his day job and become a full time artist. To make that work, he had a rich vein of inspiration to draw from, starting with Hanna Barbera cartoons.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder if that if you like The Sewers of Paris, you’ll probably also enjoy my new podcast about the 90s TV series My So-Called Life. The podcast is called Matt’s So-Cast Pod, and it’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts.

And you may also like my YouTube videos for a queer look at movie and television history, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. You can get all that and more at MattBaume.com.

Living a Superhero Lifestyle (Ep 465 - Scooby Doo/Tim Fish)

Next week, comedy legend Carol Burnett turns 91 years old, and in honor of her amazing career and life, for this week’s episode we’re diving into the Sewers of Paris archives to revisit my 2018 chat with Carol superfan Justin Root. Justin’s entry to showbiz was kind of a cliché: a pretty young face who arrives in LA with no plan other than getting famous in movies. And yet, within a few days of moving from Ohio to Hollywood, Justin found himself in front of movie cameras. It didn't take long for the entertainment industry to discover Justin, but it took another decade -- and some terrified cruising in the local video store -- for Justin to find himself.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder if that if you like The Sewers of Paris, you’ll probably also enjoy my new podcast about the 90s TV series My So-Called Life. This week’s episode features the wonderful Guy Branum, talking about his experience writing for television and why he’s a superfan of actress Bess Armstrong. The podcast is called Matt’s So-Cast Pod, and it’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts.

And you may also like my YouTube videos for a queer look at movie and television history, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. You can get all that and more at MattBaume.com.

Gay Male Student #1 (Ep 464 - Carol Burnett/Justin Root)

My guest this week is author Rasheed Newson, a TV writer who got his start on the show Lie to Me and has gone on to write for The 100, Narcos, Bel Air, and more. Last year his debut novel, My Government Means to Kill Me, made a big splash — it’s the story of a young gay black man who moves to New York during the HIV epidemic. And although Rasheed didn’t experience that world first-hand, he discovered during his writing process that in a strange way, he’d been preparing himself to tell that story for years without ever realizing it.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder if that if you like The Sewers of Paris, you’ll probably also enjoy my new podcast about the 90s TV series My So-Called Life. This week’s episode features the delightful Anthony Oliveira, who appeared on The Sewers of Paris just a few weeks ago. We talked all about My So-Called Life episode 3, in which we learn a lot more about the gay teen named Rickie — and we also talked about Anthony’s own experience as a semi-closeted teen in Catholic school, and how his secret boyfriend wasn’t quite as secret as he thought. The podcast is called Matt’s So-Cast Pod, and it’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts.

And you may also like my YouTube videos for a queer look at movie and television history, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. You can get all that and more at MattBaume.com.

I Love F***-Ups (Ep 463 - Another World/Rasheed Newson)

My guest this week is director Monty Wolfe, whose queer romcom Exploding Boy is now available on streaming. Monty’s path to filmmaking took a lot of swerves over the decades — starting with a teacher who saw the potential in a young teenager, and maybe something a little queer. That was followed by some less helpful guidance from other adults in his life, a job at a news station that he landed by accident, a decision to completely upend his life and move across the country in part to get as far as possible from a homophobic coworker, and a boyfriend who believed in Monty’s dreams and pushed him to go after them.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder if that If you like this podcast, you might enjoy my new show about the 90s TV series My So-Called Life. The podcast is called Matt’s So-Cast Pod, it features a bunch of fabulous guests, and it’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts.

And you may also like my YouTube videos about movies and TV shows, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. You can get all that and more at MattBaume.com.

I Can't Believe We Pulled This Off (Ep 435 - Happy Days/Frank)

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